Upshaw starts task of fixing Bluefish

Published 9:37 pm, Monday, August 31, 2009

BRIDGEPORT -- The manager bounced up the dugout steps at 3:43 p.m., quickly calling his players into a circle. After an initial road trip that saw his team lose four straight one-run games to start and then lose another thanks to a six-run, eighth inning bullpen explosion, it was obvious the manager wasn't happy.

For five minutes, Willie Upshaw ripped into his players like a hungry man rips into a steak. He spoke of accountability, about preparation, about being professional. And when he was done, he fired the bat he was holding some 30 yards across the field. He -- and every member of the Bridgeport Bluefish -- watched as the bat bounced up against the dugout fence as he walked back toward his office.

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With Tommy John's surprising resignation on July 8, Upshaw, the team's hitting and third base coach, was thrust back into a position he didn't expect to be in, or didn't expect to have to fix. But fix it he does, for the Bluefish are not only a team in need of leadership, they are a team in need of some serious maturity.

If you listened to some of the player's comments when John left, they said how much fun it was to play under him. How he never took anyone to task or singled anyone out. It seems as if playing for John was like being part of a college fraternity. All fun, no responsibility.

But listening to Upshaw chew those same players out Friday afternoon, it was obvious the fraternity was being shut down.

"There are a lot of things we need to do better," Upshaw said about 15 minutes later after he had sat alone behind his closed office door, apparently cooling off. "We have to put more energy into this, so we can find ways to win easier. There's a style of how you want to play and a certain amount of energy you have to put into the game and the preparation and the attitude &amp; it's all relevant in winning and losing."

Winning is something that Upshaw knows a lot of about. In his first go-round as Bluefish manager between 1998 and 2000, Bridgeport made the playoffs each year, won the '99 Atlantic League championship and posted a won-loss record of 220-139. He didn't have former major leaguers on his roster, as did other Atlantic League teams, but he had players that worked and played and played the game much like Upshaw played it, hard-nosed and all-out.

The result was the three best seasons in franchise history.

Now, the Bluefish are mired in the middle of a streak that has seen them post back-to-back losing seasons for the first time ever and unless Upshaw can turn this mess around, this will end up being the three worst seasons in franchise history.

But if he can turn this thing around and get the Bluefish back into contention in the second half, then Upshaw should win Manager of the Year hands down. Just how bad it got under John's watch might not ever be known, but to hear Upshaw rip his players for not being on time or an apparent lack of fundamentals has to make you wonder what the heck was going on these last two-plus years.

"When the situation arises, you have to be able to know it before it happens and be ready for it, whether it be offensively or defensively or pitching wise," Upshaw said. "Making the big pitch, staying away from the big inning, getting a bunt down, you know? It's all about your players understanding the situation."

The situation Friday was everyone being at the ballpark when they were told to be there. Apparently not everyone was. So Upshaw gave them an earful.

"I basically wasn't happy with guys not showing up on time. I don't know if it was a problem, but I know I don't have to put up with it," he said. "I have to make sure that we're all on the same page."

With pitchers such as Estaban Yan and Dan Reichert and hitters such as Jesse Hoorelbeke and Brandon Sing leading the way, the Bluefish can make a run at the second half Liberty Division title. But only if the players get the message and play the game Upshaw's way.

"They're a good bunch of guys, it's just how you prepare and how you're prepared before the game and during the game, so you don't get surprised by anything and so the other team can't take advantage of it," Upshaw said. "I want these guys to be prepared, be on time and play hard. We'll work on the rest."